Let's Watch the Candle Flames
by Hikari Takaishi
Summary: PG for kissies. O.o; (cough*IhavethefluandImaysoundkindofcrazy*cough). ^-^;;; Anyway, two best friends are reunited just in time for Valentine's Day. Who are they and what will they do and what'll happen? Read, read. It's my third story of this couple. I


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Let's Watch the Candle Flames

Years passed by like they always do and a young girl grew up to become a beautiful and wise woman. At the same time, an already mature young man grew up to be the ideal student with an almost perfect life. The friendship between them grew with the years and the secrets were shared with jokes. In all, Yagami Hikari and Kido Jyou were the greatest of friends.

One was studying to become a doctor in the best college in Japan. The other was finishing her last year of high school. Despite the distance between them, they held a strong friendship that they would never give up.

_!~!_

"Takeru," Hikari called to the blond across the room, "bring me that camera, please."

He nodded an automatically tossed to the girl. Barely catching it, she gave him the usual death stare and added a roll of the eyes. His way of retaliating was to stick his tongue out. It was four o'clock on a Friday afternoon. January brought its cold weather and snow onto the town of Odaiba and delivered many news stories. As usual, Hikari was on top of each and every story with a camera and plenty of film in hand.

Takeru joined along in the journalist hobby because he heard how extra add-ons help a student willing to get into college. As if his basketball career wasn't enough, he also had a grade point average of 3.80, which was spectacular considering the teachers and workload in the high school.

Hikari, on the other hand, she had a perfect 4.0 average and a strong passion for journalism. Her desires to become not only a newspaper editor, but an author as well were in an easy reach. Students already recognized her as the school valedictorian and she wore that title with pride. Every time Jyou would call, she would instantly blurt out her latest test score or grade. And every time, Jyou would congratulate her and fill her in on the college gig. It was nearly a reunion each time they spoke to each other; it was as if they hadn't spoken for years when in fact it was a mere week.

It went on like this for days… Takeru and Hikari would stay after school to finish the newspaper and then Hikari would go home to talk on the phone or do her homework. It was nothing more than a typical teenage girl's day. One day, however, everything changed…

"Hey Kari!" Taichi called out loudly, "Jyou's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

Hikari turned in her seat and placed her pencil on her ear. Picking up the phone, she then brought it up and looked back at her school paper. Her brown eyes stared at the paper while her index finger curled itself around her shoulder-length auburn hair. 

"Yo, Jyou," she said casually.

"Hey, Hikari," he replied, "how have you been?"

"Great. And you?"

"Just fine."

"Did you need something?"

"Can't I call a friend out of the blue?"

"You never wander off the schedule. You're supposed to call me tomorrow--"

"Oh, come now," Jyou protested, "I do forget about the schedule sometimes."

"Fine, fine. But what's the purpose of your call?"

"The hospital near my college is starting to allow a student or two to come in and help out every day after school and Saturday afternoons."

"Ooh! Let me guess…" Hikari teased, "You're the first student?"

"Yes I am."

"Yay for you."

The friends went from the topics of school to family, from family to foods, and from foods to nonsense. Before they knew it, an hour flew by and they had to say the unwanted good-byes. 

"I'll call whenever," Jyou said, surprisingly loose.

"All right," Hikari scribbled on her paper absentmindedly. Neither of them liked saying good-byes. So they always avoided it by saying good-hi.

"Good-hi, Yagami." Jyou paused and added, "I'll see you soon."

"Good-hi, Kido."

And with that, they hung up. Hikari sat in her bedroom in silence for a minute. Then something came into her mind and caused her to look up. 

"See you soon?" she repeated.

_!~!_

Three days later, the chilly January faded into the love-infested month of February. Hikari loathed this month extremely. It wasn't the fact that every year, her two "secret admirers" would shower her with roses and attention. It was the fact that she didn't deserve to own such attention from the guys. As much as she hated to say it, Hikari couldn't connect with Takeru anymore. Daisuke wasn't able to understand her either. She felt different when with those two. Although she couldn't pinpoint the problem, she tried to figure out why. 

Days, days, and more days of little memos and cards filled her locker. She felt guilty for not able to express her own feelings back to them. Two days before Valentine's Day, she finally reached the point where she couldn't receive the flowers and cards any longer. Being the secretive coward she was, Hikari returned all the items in the same fashion they were given to her. She put the items in their locker.

After school that day, Hikari waited for the two to open their lockers. They were beside each other, so it made it a bit easier, aside from the fact that she felt bad. Soon, Takeru and Daisuke were walking down the halls, arguing over petty things like they always did. As soon as Takeru opened his locker, his happy blue eyes switched dramatically into heartbreak.

"Rejected!" Daisuke laughed at the blond, "Shot down! Hopeless! Can't get no love no more."

"Shut up," Takeru glared and shut his locker. At the same time, Daisuke opened his.

"What the…" Daisuke looked at his locker filled with the gifts he gave. "Hikari--"

"Should've known." Takeru snapped at himself, trying to hide a piece of broken heart. "She must have another boyfriend already."

"Yeah." The brunette shoved his hands in his pockets and said bitterly, "Someone older and smarter."

"He's probably in college or something."

"Probably has a damn job."

"…Maybe she just didn't want the gifts?"

"…That must be it."

"Yeah."

"Yeah." Daisuke echoed. Hikari walked out of the classroom just as they turned the corner. 

She sighed and whispered to herself, "An older guy… humph…"

_!~!_

One day before Valentine's Day, Hikari sat in her room finishing her math work when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." She said without looking up. The door opened and shut within a matter of seconds. 

"What do you need?" she asked, still scribbling math equations on her paper. There was no reply.

"Taichi?" Hikari asked louder. Before she could turn around, two warm hands covered her eyes and startled her. As much as she tried to pull them off, the hands wouldn't even budge. At last, a familiar voice crept into her ears. 

"Hey, Hikari… How have you been?"

"Jyou?" Hikari jerked her head one when then the other. His hands released their hold and she flipped around in her seat and looked up. It _was_ Jyou! Years changed his look; he wore his black pants and white T-shirt uniform with a coat folded over his shoulder. He still wore thin black-framed glasses but his hair was cut short and it was tossed about from the wind outside. All the same, he was still the Jyou she remembered.

"That's me." 

"Jyou!" Hikari smiled brightly and stood up on the chair; she then wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's so good to see you! Why are you out of school? There's no vacation. You wouldn't skip. What are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you as well. I'm out of school because of reasons. I know there isn't a vacation. And I wouldn't skip even a minute of a class. And I'm here to see you." Jyou answered assertively. "So, Little Yagami, break any hearts this Valentine's?"

Hikari froze and thought about Takeru and Daisuke. "N-no," she lied, feeling guilty on the spot. "What's up with your college?"

"Funny really," Jyou said and pulled the girl off the chair to set her on the ground. Hikari blushed because she had hugged him for so long.

"After the winter break was over, some of the teachers complained of having something else to do this week. Sure, we have to make the week up in the summer, but it's worth it I suppose."

"Really?"

"No." Jyou smirked. "They're giving us a mini-vacation for repairs to the dorms and classes."

"How…" Hikari searched for a word," how awesome!"

They both came into a slight chortle before their discussion picked up again. Minutes later, they planned to go to a dinner place. Jyou was in town until the day after Valentine's Day and they didn't wish to waste a second of it. Unfortunately, Hikari still had to go to school in the mornings. But because of Jyou, they worked around that obstacle.

Dinner was perfection, in Hikari's mind anyway. She had never felt so free to speak her mind in such a long time. What was even greater was the fact that Jyou understood everything she said. Instead of dining on the delights, they talked for most of the time. Sure, they could have talked hours away on the telephone, but somehow, they kept coming up with different topics. This delighted both of them the same. It had been a long while since Hikari could talk about complex things for a long time.

As the dinner ended, they took the casual walk home side by side, still talking about near meaningless things. The night was still chilly but it gave character to the stars. The colder it got, the brighter they seemed to shine. More fascination grew when Jyou began to talk about how great the college life was. Hikari was fixated on his words, hanging off them as they came out of his mouth. 

"It's basically freedom in the school walls. I know that must sound strange," Jyou concluded, "but it's much more amazing than high school."

"Wow," gaped Hikari, "I can't believe how great it seems. I can't wait! Maybe I can get into your college…"

"Don't think you won't. Because I know you will."

Hikari smiled proudly and imagined herself taking quotes from the future doctor for the newspaper. She pictured writing a million stories on the college and taking a bunch of photographs. Not just for the newspaper, but for memories. She yearned for the day when she would set foot inside the college dorms. The day when she gets that letter to be accepted would be the most happiest day ever. 

_Just finish high school and everything will be just fine._ She thought to herself, still smiling.

Jyou had arranged to stay at the Yagami's days before. Funny how Hikari didn't even know. When they came home, Taichi asked everything about the college dorms. The college he went to was close enough for him just to stay at home; they wouldn't allow him to stay due to the crowding of students. All the same, he and Yamato had all the same classes. They purposely arranged that matter so they could use each other's notes when one wasn't there. 

Taichi hung off of every word of Jyou's just as Hikari did. Only he had more fascination in his eyes and a wide grin across his face. Hours flew by with Jyou in the spotlight. Sure enough, midnight passed by unnoticed and one o'clock was on its way. Finally, Mrs. Yagami glanced at the clock and broke up the discussion.

"Hikari, you have school tomorrow."

"Oh! But Mother, Jyou's got so many stories…" Hikari slouched in her seat.

"I'm sorry," she smiled and nodded for her to leave.

Hikari stood up and warned everyone, "If I hear that I missed one of the stories… I'll … do something."

"Whatever," Taichi leaned against the table, "Jyou, how many girls are there?"

Everyone guffawed at Taichi's question and soon he began laughing as well. Hikari unwillingly walked into her room and looked out the window. The moon was shining directly into her bedroom and onto her bed. Since Taichi volunteered to "move out," Hikari had a room to her own. He took the spare that was bigger than Hikari's. 

Hikari stood in her room for at least a half-hour, just thinking, dreaming, and wishing. Before slipping into bed, she heard an easygoing knock and she opened the door. As she suspected, Jyou stood there.

"Need something?" she questioned.

"Everyone went to bed and I figured you'd still be up." Jyou shrugged.

"Ah, really," said she and motioned him to come in. "Why aren't you going to sleep?"

"I assume I'm not tired. Why aren't you asleep by now?"

Hikari blinked and sat on her bed. She pulled her feet up and blinked again, "I don't know. I was thinking."

Jyou sat down in front of the bed in the moonlight. "You have school tomorrow."

"So?" she took a pillow into her arms and hugged it gently, "I've gone without sleep before. Things just seem a little slow. That's all."

"That's not good for your health."

"Well then why are you still here if you're so worried about my well-being?"

Jyou scratched his head, "Fine, you got me."

"So you just wanted to talk some more?" Hikari questioned, setting her chin on the pillow.

"If that's okay with you."

"Of course! I love listening to your stories about college. You make it sound so… remarkable."

"How come I haven't heard any of your high school stories?"

"Because…"

"Why?"

"I… don't know."

"Then start telling."

Hikari giggled, "I assure you, it's nothing too outstanding."

"But it's a story from you."

"Jyou, come on. I don't want to bore you with high school tales."

"Please, Hikari?" It was the first time she ever saw Jyou look up to her through his glasses in a pleading look. He almost looked like he was a mere junior high kid again. 

"Fine…" she rolled her eyes at the sudden immaturity of her friend. "There was one time where one of my articles made front page and I got a lot of comments on it…"

Another half-hour progressed with Hikari telling the stories. Sure enough, she finally stopped and begged him to let her stop. 

"You're right." Jyou glanced at the clock. "You should get some rest. I'm sorry."

"You did not just apologize!" Hikari snapped, "I liked this. Who cares about sleep."

"Good night, Little Yagami." Jyou stood up and adjusted his glasses.

Hikari automatically fell onto her moonlighted bed and pulled a blanket to her chin. It hadn't occurred to either of them that they talked in the dark. Jyou yawned and walked to the door. As he opened the door, Hikari called his name and caused him to turn around.

"Good night, Jyou." She said, a little childishly. The glasses-wearing boy smirked and walked out.

_!~!_

All during school, Hikari kept talking about Jyou and his stories. She had forgotten the mishap between Daisuke, Takeru and herself and she didn't realize it until she saw Takeru poking at his school lunch. Hikari stopped her talking and took a good look at the boy beside her. His always-bright blue eyes were shaded over with a gray glint; his smile was rarely seen---if ever seen. And mostly, his game performance suffered. Surely this couldn't be all her fault. It couldn't be her fault. …Right?

School ended quickly and Hikari rushed to get out of homeroom. When she received her items from her locker, she turned around to see Jyou by the front doors. She waved and he walked over to her. Automatically, Hikari tossed her bag over her shoulder and walked to the side of her friend. His hands rested on her shoulders as he followed Hikari out. As they left, Takeru slipped around the corner with his hands in his pockets.

"An older guy," Takeru said to himself bitterly as he watched the two walk into the parking lot. His eyes burned with fury before he turned to go to practice.

Hikari sat in Jyou's dark blue car in amazement. Not only had he gotten into the best college, he had gotten a really nice car! She looked out the slightly tinted windows and saw a faint reflection. Then she looked at the interior details: great air conditioning and heating, clear radio, good speakers. It was amazing how Jyou had kept it so perfect. 

"So," Jyou said over the soft music, "what'd you want to do first?"

Hikari snapped out of her trance and looked up at him. "Let's go to the park. We can take the nature trail into the words along the creek. And afterwards, we can do the whole dinner thing."

"Sounds good," he nodded and added, "it's a little chilly, so be sure to wear your sweater."

"Yeah, yeah." Hikari rolled her eyes and leaned back on the seat. Before long, the car stopped on the side of the road near the park. A lot of people were already there, being as it was Valentine's Day. Hikari practically dove out of the car and pulled Jyou along with her. She tugged on his sleeve this way and that, trying to convince him to by her a simple pretzel. Jyou finally gave in and she overwhelmingly (and immaturely) nibbled on her victory treat.

They started to walk on the path, starting from the swing sets and into the forest. Hikari never left his side for one moment and she had to take larger steps just to keep up with him; she didn't mind. They began to talk about memories, whether it was stuff from their Digital World experiences or just family memories, it didn't matter. In the center of the forest, there was a large, beautiful water fountain that always released warm water.

Hikari slipped her fingers under the falling water and smiled; "I remember when I was a kid, I'd always wonder why water would spit out of the statue."

"I did too," Jyou sat down on a bench and watched Hikari circle the piece of art. 

"I never knew how much I loved this until now." She stopped and sat down beside her friend.

"Did you want to go to dinner next?"

"I don't know." Hikari paused, "Let's just stay here for a while."

Yet again, they talked and rambled and laughed and smiled. It was amazing they didn't pass out from talking so much! All through the discussion, Hikari thought about what Daisuke and Takeru said about her and "an older guy." Could it be possible that she…_ liked_ Jyou? Of course not! They were the greatest of friends, not some lovey-dove couple. 

Their discussion grew deeper, as did Hikari's thoughts. By the time they had reached the topic of Saturn, as dull as it may have been, Hikari was convinced that they were just friends. In the park, the beautiful violin music drifted into the forest and ceased their small talk. It was a familiar song performed by a trio that was played on every Valentine's Day and Christmas Eve.

As the story went, two young lovers escaped from their homes on one chilly night. Both of their parents disapproved of their love, for one was older than the other and one had a strict family. Together they walked into a forest to hide away from their parents. It was a cold and silent night, also moonless of all things. Since the cold weather was too much, the lovers died in the forest wrapped in each other's arms. The next day, a hunter found them and told the parents. That afternoon, the townspeople held a small funeral for the sweethearts and at that funeral, three violinists played that very same song. It was a term of respect to continue to play the song considering it wasn't some fairytale, but a true story.

Hikari found herself with her eyes closed and her body close to Jyou's. The music lured her to sleep and apparently, Jyou had drifted to sleep as well. A tap on the shoulder made the young man's eyes open quickly. They looked at each other for a brief moment then broke apart instantly. 

"We should uh, get going." Jyou stood up and cleared his throat. Hikari followed his lead as he walked down the barely lit pathway with his hands in his pockets.

"You know what?" Hikari asked in beat with their steady footsteps.

"What?" Jyou asked, still keeping a distance ahead of her.

"I don't think I'm that hungry anymore." 

The blue-haired boy stopped in his tracks and the girl ran right into his back. She fell to the ground on contact. Turning around, Jyou held out his hand to help her up.

"Sorry, Little Yagami." He muttered as she pulled herself up with the help of his hand. Hikari watched as he turned around again to start walking. Before his hand left hers, she gripped onto his index finger with two of her own. Again, he turned around and looked at the youthful girl in front of him.

"What's wrong?" she queried. A silent chuckle escaped his mouth and he looked away.

"Jyou?"

"Hikari, it's nothing," he assured her and slipped his finger away from her grasp. Once more, Jyou walked a good two feet ahead of Hikari to get to the car. As they escaped from the forest, the music grew louder and echoed throughout the night sky. Young couples still adorned the park and green fields and lights were streamed around the edges of the walkways. Jyou made his path to the car by cutting across the grass. Once there, his hands fumbled with the keys and he soon dropped them onto the ground. By the time Hikari got there, he was on his hands and knees.

"Drop something?" Hikari asked, folding her arms over her stomach. "What's wrong? You suddenly flipped about something."

"Hikari…" Jyou finally looked up. "I apologize for the unkind gestures."

"It's okay… but…"

"Ah ha," Jyou flung the keys into his hand and stuck it in the keyhole. "Let's go." 

Sighing, Hikari walked to the opposite side and opened the door. She got in without any words and buckled up. 

"Happy Valentine's." Muttered the two at the same time. Again simultaneously, they looked at each other and blinked. They started to chortle just a little before silenced dawned on them again. Jyou started up the car and the muffled violin music was drowned out by the radio. Quietly, the car pulled out of the street and started to drive towards main-street. 

"Jyou?" Hikari repeated the name in a curious tone.

"Nothing's wrong, Little Yagami."

"Jyou…"

"Believe me."

"Jyou."

"Please."

"Jyou."

"Come on, Hikari."

"Jyou!"

"What!" Jyou slowed the car and pulled it to the side. Hikari sat in silence, unsure of what to say, shocked from the yell.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly and stared out into the road ahead of them. "Interruption in my thoughts kind of… trigger different feelings."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing-I mean-it's hard to explain."

Hikari crossed her arms over her stomach and leaned against the chair. "You've never had any problems talking to me."

"Things change," Jyou said coldly and reached for the keys to start the engine again. Hikari's hand stopped it from turning.

"Jyou," she whispered and pulled his hand away from the keys, "please tell me what's wrong."

His eyes scanned for words; she could tell he was trying to make up an excuse. For a couple minutes, they sat in the dark while Jyou's eyes stared at the streetlight in front of them. Hikari never let go of his hand, nor did she take her eyes off of his. When she finally let go of him, he turned to look at her.

"Hikari," he said quietly, leaning towards her delicate skin. "You enchant me in the strangest ways. I've recognized your powerful friendship, your willing attitude, and you heavenly charm. Frankly, you're scaring me, Hikari."

She sat there with a blush on her cheeks and confusion in her eyes. Never in the lengthy time she has known him had she seen him in such a manner. He was looking at her straight in the eye with a faint smile that could make her sigh.

"I don't understand," Hikari whispered, "I thought we were-"

"Friends, I know. As did I, Hikari. But something happened this past few weeks that made me feel…" his voice faded and he turned back to the road. His hand reached for the keys again, "But it could never work."

All the hope that Hikari held in for the last few minutes dropped tremendously. "What?" she gaped in more confusion.

"You couldn't love me. I couldn't love you." Jyou said and quickly snapped his wrist to turn the car engine on. Sweet music filled the silence and Hikari stared at her reflection in the mirror. For a brief moment, Jyou had almost said what he felt about her. And in a way, he did. The car started to move, but Hikari felt glued to the spot. Her hands couldn't even release their grip from the seat of the car. 

Turn after turn, Hikari began to feel nauseous and felt great pain in her heart. Was it possible that she _did_ like Jyou? Not in the childish way… but like as in love. It couldn't be possible. She had taken so much time to figure out that it was strictly friendship. Besides, their attitudes couldn't clash. In midst of her thoughts, she didn't even notice the car stop in front of her apartment. Instantly, she shot her head to look at Jyou; he had just gotten done turning off the vehicle. 

"Jyou-" she tried to start, but the lump in her throat swelled and choked out her words. She couldn't understand why she wanted to cry. Love never came across her mind! Hikari always looked up to Jyou as a great friend. Friend, friend, friend, and friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

"Hikari, I'm sorry." He apologized for the millionth time.

"J-" she tried again. 

"Don't cry," he turned to her and gave her that Kido smile. 

"I'm trying not to." Hikari laughed at herself and glanced out the window.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this. I didn't mean to."

"I-you-y-you apologize too much."

"It's habit…" he chuckled uneasily. 

"Were you trying to say that you love me?" she blurted and froze immediately. 

"…" Jyou stared at the steering wheel, wishing it would somehow drive him to his death. 

"B-because… I did. I mean I do! But I didn't realize it. Because I'm foolish. Because I'm an imbecile. I can't get my emotions out because I'm too…"

"You put yourself down too much." Jyou dropped his hands from the wheel.

"W-were you?"

"I'm afraid to say." He said harshly to himself and looked at Hikari. She was sitting with her head tilted towards the window beside her. The moonlight dropped into her eyes and gave a shine telling him that she was holding back tears.

"I didn't know it," Hikari said, more to herself than to Jyou, "all this time, you were the one that kept me back; kept me away from the things that could have been."

"I didn't do anything," he stared at her in stillness, "all I did was love you."

A cold chill ran down Hikari's spine and she jerked her head towards Jyou. "Please don't say that," she pleaded, "I don't want to get you mixed up in the life of mine."

"Too late," Jyou murmured and felt himself lean towards the young woman. 

Hikari watched his eyes approach hers and tears twitched out of the corner of her eyes. Before she knew it, his forehead was against hers and their eyes were mere centimeters apart.

"I do love you, Little Yagami." 

Hikari took a deep breath to calm herself, but her heart just skipped another beat as his lips brushed against hers for a swift moment. She then closed her eyes and kissed him back. Without knowing it, her hands fell upon his shoulders and his around her waist. The most longing kiss Hikari ever waited for was finally here.

"You know," Jyou broke the kiss only to kiss her again and break it once more, "we can't fall in love."

"Mm, I know, we just can't." Hikari shook her head and their lips linked once more. 

"I don't have the time."

"Nor do I."

"We're so stupid, Hika'." Jyou whispered with their foreheads still together.

Hikari nodded and kissed him again, "One hundred percent."

"Because this'll never…"

"Work," she finished weakly before she hugged him tightly. "Jyou! We have to make it work. We just have to! Now that-now that all this stuff ha-has happened…"

Jyou felt the warm embrace and tilted his head onto hers, "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah," sobbed the girl. She knew that things couldn't work out the way the future looked. Sure, Hikari would be in college in less than a year, but that would also mean that Jyou would be out sooner than she would. And then what? Would she tag along to his doctor career? Would she tag along with his life, his dream, his desires? That's all she was, a tag along with nothing better to live for.

That powerful feeling that could change someone's life in an instant crushed Hikari's. She felt unsure of her future all of a sudden. She felt as if her 4.0 GPA collapsed into an unspeakable level. She felt as if she could curl up and die, just like the story of the lovers went. But oh! _They_ made their relationship work between the quarrels and obstacles. Maybe, just maybe…

_!~!_

Hikari sat in her bedroom with two candles aglow on her desk. Sitting in her chair with her legs crossed, she sat perfectly still with an exception of a quick page turn. In her room, there were two beds, a closet, and a bathroom. Though utterly small, she and her roommate made it flawlessly humble. Pictures decorated the walls along with newspaper clippings, posters, and grade 'A' papers. Just as she was about to blow out the candles, the door opened. Instead of jumping, the young woman quietly returned to her reading.

Two hands covered her eyes and that familiar voice filled her ears, "Hey, Little Yagami."

Hikari pried the hands off easily and held them in her own. "Hi, Jyou." She smiled and tilted her head up. The candle flames danced wildly in the reflection of his glasses, but behind the flames, she saw his gentle, loving eyes staring into hers. 

"How was your day?" he asked quietly in a barely audible whisper.

"It was great." She said, in the same volume. 

"I told you we would work things out," he teased.

Hikari smiled and he kissed her on the forehead. She turned in her seat and added, "What should we do now?"

Jyou sat down on the floor and against his own bed. "Let's watch the candle flames."

The young brunette curled up on the floor beside him and they stared at the flickering fire on the wax stick in silence. 

"Jyou," Hikari grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder, "thanks for always being my best friend."

The End

(Strange… I know. ^-^)

Okay, I hope you liked it because right now, I have the yucky, nasty, sick, annoying, wish-it-were-gone-already flu. And I typed this up in a jiffy. I suppose I took too much flu medicine in one dose. ::sweatdrops:: Fear not! I'll be well soon. (Oh yeah, I'm sure eeeveryone will be just thrilled.) 

Author's Note: I'm not trying to convince any of you that Jyoukari is the long-lasting relationship because there is no hints whatsoever in the show that lead towards the couple. But, I personally think that Jyou and Hikari can be compatible for reasons. A lot of people refuse because of the age difference. Well, if you look at them now, most likely, you wouldn't see an eleven-year old prancing around with a freshman in high school. But if you look at them in… you know, ten years later, it wouldn't really matter. Bunches and bunches of people have varied age differences. 

So don't think that they have no chance with each other at all. Besides, I think they can make a couple with their attitudes/intelligence. Just don't flame me about my opinions. You could flame about the story; just not my opinions. ::sweatdrops:: Well, enough rambling… I just thought I'd semi-clear that up. I bet I didn't. I bet if I read it over, I would change a lot of it. But I won't. So nyah. O.o;

Please review! Tell me what you think. 'Kay? Thank you. ^-^ Hika'Kaishi 


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